How should I approach recovery service? 500GB Seagate crash

[Greed]

I have a Seagate Freeagent external drive which sits vertically. When I got to my computer, I found "delayed write failure" pop-up, which happens from time to time. I restarted the drive and computer.

The very first time, I got some pop up about "unknown device found". From that point on, it was never recognized.
When it is powered up and connected to USB, the drive spins up, make slight clicks, then spindle shuts off after about 15 seconds.

I ripped the case apart to eliminate the SATA-USB translator as the cause.

Inside is a 7200.11 ST3500320AS with SD35. Hooked it up to SATA directly. Nothing.
Called Seagate. They checked my SN and said my drive isn't affected by firmware.

I TTL'd into the firmware to attempt firmware fix. Tried it several times and I can't get past spin up. It will do spin down fine, then when spin up is sent after PCB is put back on, I will get

Error 1009 DETSEC 00006008
Spin Error
R/W Status 2 R/W Error 84150180

So there it is ready to go into data recovery service. Some providers require evaluation before giving me a price. Seagate gave me an option. Firm quote or post evaluation quote. Which option should I go with given these choices?

I've contacted:
Seagate Recovery Service $700 to $2500
Kroll Ontrak ~$2500
Adroit Data Recovery Centre (ADRC)(international, but I asked, because they advertise "home user" discount) ~$2500
I'll be contacting CBL later on.

I'd like to keep shipping it back and forth to the minimum to avoid further damage or loss.
I'm willing to pay within a reason. I would rather not send to some low bidder to further damage my data.

What do you professionals think is a reasonable cost for something like this? Who else should I check with?

Some providers have sliding scale fee even after a firm quote for partial recovery. How do they usually determine the rate for something like this? Who makes the call as to whats acceptable quality of recovery?

Thanks in advance.

[BlackST]

As usual people want us to do clairvoyance. It is impossible to say what is going on without seeing and analyzing the drive. Anyway it is the standard price for YOUR market and for the DR services you asked to.
Maybe if you don't mind crossing the borders / shipping outside continental US you can have a different (better ?) quote, but consider shipping, custom fees etc. that add up.

You can also ask other opinion from independent professional/s.

[lcoughey]

You certainly don't have a firmware issue. The terminal output inplies that the drive is not able to spin, yet you say it spins down. This makes it difficult for anyone to diagnose without hearing and seeing what is happening with the drive. My guess is that the spindle is stuck.

Yes, the $2500 estimates are reasonable, considering what it takes to work around these issues. That being said, there are other labs out there who can help you out, likely at a lower rate. There are some members of this forum in the US who may be able to help you out, such as jono-ats...you can PM him.

If such a drive were to come into my lab, we'd likely be in a range of $750 to $1500...the $750 being a stiction issue and the $1500 being a seized spindle with damaged heads.

[drc]

How do they usually determine the rate for something like this? Who makes the call as to whats acceptable quality of recovery?

Ask the companies before you think about sending your drive in. If they don't give you a definite answer that you like, don't send it in.

I second the recommendation for jono-ats

[Greed]

Plugged in normally, it does spin up to full speed. Head seeks around, clicks a dozen times or so, then the drive shuts the spindle off.

[Doomer]

Heads don't see servo. Meaning heads are dead
There is a very (very-very) small chance that PCB is dead
I guess you can get this done using economy service of Seagate Recovery Services for around $1500. But this is just my guess you'll have to submit drive for free evaluation before you can get a quote

[Greed]

Ok, the drive got sent to Seagate for economy recovery. I'm told they had to do "salvage recovery", but it took them less than a week for them to report back what they can salvage, which leads me to believe the process is more or less automated using an equipment. I'm told that there are "rings" on the platter from head crash. The drive hasn't been subjected to any physical abuse.

I know I had 100s of GB on that thing, but they're telling me they can only recover about 10GB and that's all the small files. It's not like the drive was dropped from 100ft on concrete or it was in a fire and I'm highly disappointed in the result. Is this really the best they can do or is it just what they're willing to do for the economy service using more or less automated equipment within the constraints of a few hours of tech's time aka "technically possible vs commercially feasible for the firm quote given" ?

I've read data recovery is possible even from drives thats been in fire and I've seen on "forensic files" how they were able to recover data from floppy disk that's been chopped to pieces with scissors so the outcome is far worse than I've expected.
I have the chance to accept or reject recovery, but all the file names are random. I'm not even sure if the files I'll get will be of any use to me or not.

Would I have better chance if I send it to CBL?
Is data recovery a destructive process? Meaning did Seagate working on my drive reduce chance of further recovery by another lab?

[Doomer]

Rings mean that your drive has media damage on some of the surfaces
You are lucky that you have even 10GB of data
You might have had better chance if you wouldn't screw your drive with this: "Tried it several times and I can't get past spin up."

I guess this will be another lesson for eager DIY-selfers. As all DR professionals warn - the more you try to poke your damaged drive without proper diagnosis the less chances of a successful DR. I really hope that people will search and read this thread before they consider to do something stupid

PS: sorry that your data cannot be recovered. I doubt that CBL would do better
PPS:Please see this simulator to understand why leaving drive to click can be dangerous - http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/ ... simulator/

[Greed]

I just called Drive Savers Recovery and explained what I was told and that its already been sent to Seagate.

They feel that they recover more than Seagate lab can. Well??

[BlackST]

"Well??" what ?

If there is severe media damage (rings) , it is the biggest limit you can have to recoverability of the drive.
If they - without having seen the drive and "diagnosing" over the phone they "feel" that they can recover "MORE" (oh, even 1 GB more is MORE than 10 ) you can always send them the drive.
It's not the 1st time we see / do drives declared "unrecoverable" or with "highly limited chances" , sometimes I wonder why it happened, but there are many variables at play, including customer approach (*cough*).
I trust the professionality of Seagate Recovery Services and maybe behind the lines their statement should have been intended as "from what we see we can be sure about 10GB of data, this data ...." .
It is absolutely pointless to speculate and cavil about what method, automated or not, is going to be used - they should have a reason to use it - in a nutshell, if you think you believe them and trust their professionality, take it. Or leave it. PERIOD.
So said, anyway, you can get a 2nd, 3rd , 4th opinion but each time the drive is opened and analyzed it is playing with fire and adding damage to damage.

About this :

I've read data recovery is possible even from drives thats been in fire and I've seen on "forensic files" how they were able to recover data from floppy disk that's been chopped to pieces with scissors so the outcome is far worse than I've expected.
I have the chance to accept or reject recovery, but all the file names are random. I'm not even sure if the files I'll get will be of any use to me or not.

You and everyone else who watch TV and use the internet should be realistic : some things are sci-fi, some other are related to the importance of data and funding devoted to the cause, beside the fact that too many times the talk is about success and NEVER about the failures (that don't give audience share points) .
The chances you get data from a scissor-cut floppy are hundreds more than getting valid bits from scratched platters or even rewritten HDDs.
If you give me 100'000 - 500'000 $ regardless of results I can do every attempt and move a world to recover data, if the budget is 500$ taxes paid the best I can do (and what every other do) is just an attempt.

[Doomer]

Well??

Well it's a nice way for them to collect evaluation fee that they charge
I would be glad for you and for them if they can produce better results

[Greed]

Can anyone vouch for Drive Savers recovery as far as being a reputable company?

I was told that they do not charge for evaluation, but I found "press release" on their website saying they charge $200.

I got an estimate and was promised it will never exceed the initial range of quote. ($700 to $2700 USD). I got an email from a personalized staff email address (not customerservice@company.com) with a reference ID, so I guess I'm going to ask for that in writing.

[Greed]

Well??

Well it's a nice way for them to collect evaluation fee that they charge
I would be glad for you and for them if they can produce better results

They're telling me there is NO evaluation fee.

[labtech]

Typically there is no evaluation fee as long as the drive has not been tampered with, worked on, cover opened, etc. Do not be surprised for any DR firm to charge a previously opened fee.

[jono-ats]

In this case, if Seagate couldn't recover the data in this case, I doubt anyone else can, either.

If there is no eval fee, then it can't hurt to try. If there is an eval fee, I think it would just be "throwing good money after bad."

Please let us know the outcome in any case.

Thank you.

[Greed]

I guess the common assumption is the manufacturer's service center is the most capable, although I'm trying not to assume that.

I believe Seagate recovery/former i365 service all models. I know that with camera equipment, watches and such, there are specialized independent shops that can do component level repairs that the factory service center have deemed irreparable.

I don't want to pay for recovery twice, obviously, but my primary concern is my data, so my concern here is if I reject Seagate's recovery and I get even worse outcome from Drive Savers, then I'm royally screwed. This drive holds files of great personal value to me that are irreplaceable.

Drive Savers concern me in a way. They're very heavily marketing emphasized and boast 80+ % success rate, but that is their own claim. Each time I call, they basically send me a quote from employee's personalized email, but the contents are basically canned email and they're very reluctant to let me even talk to same person. They heavily boast about how their clean room is higher classification than other labs, blah blah blah, on each followup, we have 26 years of experience and proprietary technology, so on and on. They're open 24/7 and these "data recovery advisors" come across to me as commissioned sales person who just wants to close the sale.

When i got put on hold, the automated greetings say their satisfied clients include "Google, eBay, various universities" but I'm fully aware of redundancy measure these organizations take with multiple redundancy, off site back up and so forth and take and I question if they're stupid enough to have to use data recovery service. They claim many device manufacturers refer customers to them, but thats again, their own claim.

Seagate on the other hand assigned me a personalized case manager and never gave me the typical call center run-abouts.

Can someone provide references for drivesavers.com by private message?

[labtech]

Question: let's say a company's real success rate is 99%. If the next drive in-line is yours and it ends up not recoverable. Will the rate success really matter to you at the end of the day?

[ShaneWard]

You could always take the data Seagate recovers from your drive than if you got the money, go back to drivesavers later for the rest. Just get the original drive from seagate and I am sure they would be more capable of recovery as its theredrive.

If driveservers were completely useless, you can be the first person to post it here for everyone to see and advoide them.

Shane

[Greed]

Right now, I'm on the fence between Drivesavers and Kroll Ontrak.

Reviews found on Yelp is mixed. Some say they had success with Ontrak after Drivesavers wasn't successful.

I checked Drivesavers and they do indeed have accredited A+ status on BBB and they did earn a status as a Federal Government contractor which I verified here:

https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/ref_text/G ... ST2008.PDF

[BlackST]

Does it make a difference for you? Your data, your money, your choice. Unless there's a hidden - and not so hidden then - ad
It reminds me about the guy at the butcher's asking if the meat is good or not.